Liberia’s nascent democracy is at a critical juncture as the country prepares to conduct its third post war presidential and legislative elections and every stakeholder is making the clarion calls for vices that would erode the gains made to be avoided.

The manipulation of the media to propagate unhealthy messages is one of those negatives that usually characterize elections. Hence, the Political Leader of the All Liberian Party (ALP), Benoni W. Urey is entreating President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to lead the way in ensuring that the media is not manipulated to antagonize the opposition because bad media could cause chaos and reverse the country’s progress.The Liberian businessman said President Johnson-Sirleaf should take the leadership role in ensuring that media institutions connected to her directly or indirectly do not attack the opposition unfairly. He spoke at an honoring ceremony of his wife Mai Urey and himself at the Kuwait Market on Bushrod Island Monday. The honor was bestowed on the pair by the women of the market. “In 2011, they opened a radio Kigali. We will not accept it this time around and we are appealing to the President because it is her duty to ensure that peace and tranquility prevail in this country. She must stop these radio stations that are directly or indirectly associated with her from targeting people and making negative remarks about opposition politicians. If you attack George Weah, you attack me. If you attack Brumskine, you attack me. Any opposition you attack, you attack me,” the ALP Political leader stated.He added that the ruling establishment should know that the opposition is working together to unseat it. “They must tie their dogs because we have tons of dogs. Shedding light on the debate about whether or not Liberia should be made “Christian nation” by law, Mr. Urey said Christianity is not spread by making noise. He indicated that the energy being used to propagate such campaign should be directed towards building the lives of other Christians instead of using it to divide the country on religious lines. “Christianity is not about making noise but loving one another. If you spend your energy and resources on making Liberia a Christian nation, it is irrelevant. Some of the fundamentals of Christianity is that you must love your brother. You must help them. You must show the good things about life. Look at our Muslim brothers. Do you know they are spreading across Liberia? It is because they love one another. If one person opens a shop, for example, in a particular locality, he or she would give helping hand to his fellow brother through loan or other means. How many Christians have done this for our brothers? This is true Christianity,” he noted. As the country celebrates its 169th Independence anniversary, the ALP Political leader has encouraged Liberians to remain resilient despite the insurmountable challenges they face in their daily lives. “We are thankful to the Almighty God for his blessings and mercies he has and continues to bestow upon us as a nation and people in spite of our national and individual challenges and limitations,” he said in his Independence day message yesterday.